King Dedede (SSB4): Difference between revisions

'''King Dedede''' ({{ja|デデデ|Dedede}}, ''Dedede'') is a playable character in ''[[Super Smash Bros. 4]]''. His return to the series was announced in a [[List of Director's Room Miiverse posts|Director's Room Miiverse post]] on January 10th, 2014, which also commemorated ''{{s|wikirby|Kirby: Triple Deluxe}}'' being released in Japan on the same day. [[Masahiro Sakurai]] reprises his role as King Dedede's voice actor, albeit via a filter being applied to his ''Brawl'' voice clips.

Dedede also boasts arguably the greatest overall endurance in the game, being the most difficult character to KO vertically, due to having the third highest [[weight]] and the second fastest [[falling speed]], and also very difficult to KO horizontally despite being a fast-falling character with slow [[air speed]], which is also due to his high weight and the fact that he boasts an impressive [[recovery]], due to his multiple [[midair jump]]s and [[Super Dedede Jump]].

==Changes from ''[[Super Smash Bros. Brawl]]''==

The most notable positives that these changes bring are his new [[down tilt]], new side special [[Gordo Throw]], and his down special, [[Jet Hammer]]. Dedede's new down tilt has faster start-up and travels a long distance, making it one of his best defensive moves (out of shield, after a smash attack, etc) at the cost of its spacing potential. Unlike [[Waddle Dee Toss]], Gordo Throw deals a consistent amount of damage, fairly high knockback, and can even be used to "pinball" opponents by using their tumbling momentum to Dedede's advantage by trapping them between a Gordo and Dedede due to the ability to angle a Gordo's trajectory, which improves his neutral game. Lastly, Jet Hammer has been noticeably buffed in terms of range and the recoil damage, and due to the addition of [[rage]] combined with his high endurance and weight, it is a much better move both onstage and for edge-guarding. As a result, these moves are more versatile than their previous iterations in ''Brawl''. Some of the gameplay changes brought about by ''SSB4'' have also helped Dedede. He is now less susceptible to projectile camping due to the universal nerf to projectile camping (although he still arguably has the hardest time against camping), and he can utilize the rage mechanic very effectively due to his considerable weight, which supplements his high power.

Another one of Dedede's best moves which was changed for the worse was his [[back aerial]]. The move went from a fast, powerful, disjointed [[sex kick]] to a more powerful but drastically laggier and more difficult to land backward hammer swing. While the move is still decent, it is no longer one of the best back aerials in the game and one of Dedede's best moves. [[Up tilt]] was also noticeably nerfed as it is laggier, lingers for less time and has much less KO power. His new moves, despite bringing nice buffs, have also brought some drawbacks as well, such as his down tilt losing its KO power and having worse spacing capabilities, his new forward aerial no longer auto-canceling in a short hop (despite its faster start-up lag and more favorable hitbox placement) and being weaker and Gordo Throw being able to be reflected by any hitbox that deals at least 2%, which also hurts the previous anti-camping abilities the Waddle Dee Toss had in ''Brawl''. Dedede's already terrible air speed was decreased even further which is especially poor as most other returning veterans had their air speed increased. Altogether, all of these changes have nerfed Dedede's approach potential. Lastly, the changes to [[hitstun canceling]] also significantly harm Dedede, as they weaken his endurance despite his increased weight and make him an easy victim of combos.

===Aesthetics===

**{{buff|King Dedede has a new side special, Gordo Throw. Compared to [[Waddle Dee Toss]], Gordo Throw is much more consistent both as a projectile and in regard to power.<ref name="Direct"/> Additionally, Gordo Throw's ability to bounce the Gordos in different trajectories also make it better at trapping. The hammer swing used to perform the move also produces a hitbox on the hammer that deals 12%, which can also hit opponents into the subsequently tossed Gordo. Lastly, Gordo Throw can hit twice, depending on the opponent's position.}}

**{{nerf|Gordo Throw deals less damage (22% → 14% (clean)/12.5% (mid early)/11% (mid late)/9.5% (late)), less knockback (65 (base)/70 (scaling) → 70/66) and launches opponents at a less favorable angle (70° → 60°) significantly hindering their KO potential compared to Waddle Dee Toss' Gordos. Unlike Waddle Dee Toss, Gordo Throw lacks anti-camping potential, due to its Gordos being reflected by any hitbox that deals at least 2%.<ref name="Direct"/>}}

**{{buff|The 19% damage increase to shields and the increase to shieldstun make Gordo Throw significantly better at breaking shields compared to Waddle Dee Toss.}}

*[[Super Dedede Jump]]:

|fsdmg=10% (hits 1-3), 1% (hit 4), 15% (hit 5)

|fsdesc=Inhales the opponent into place, strikes them three times with his hammer aflame, then fires a bomb out of it, launching the opponent diagonally in a spray of fireworks. It can KO at 47%, however, this Final Smash can be escaped with an [[air dodge]] halfway through, making it unreliable to use on low-damage opponents.

}}

Upon the game's release, players quickly noticed King Dedede's nerfs in the transition from ''[[Brawl]]'', most notably the loss of [[chain grab]]bing, though some players argued that his buffs, as well as new and improved moves such as forward aerial, Gordo Throw, and down tilt, would compensate the nerfs in the long run. However, as the metagame progressed, King Dedede's weaknesses became more apparent, and players realized the changes to game mechanics not only significantly hurt the character, but that he had indeed lost more than what he gained from the transition. Despite good results from players such as {{Sm|Big D}} and {{Sm|El_Bardo}}, with the former notably placing 17th at {{Trn|Paragon Los Angeles 2015}}, expectations of him worsened as time passed. As a result, King Dedede was ranked 46th on the first [[tier list]], confirming his status as a bottom-tier character.

It wasn't until the final year of ''Smash 4''{{'}}s active competitive lifespan when opinions on King Dedede finally saw a shift. {{Sm|ZAKI}}, a King Dedede player from Japan, made his debut outside of his country, placing 17th at both {{Trn|Smash 'N' Splash 4}} and {{Trn|2GG: Hyrule Saga}}, notably defeating {{Sm|MkLeo}} in the latter. Although it may be the result of matchup inexperience, as ZAKI performed worse back in Japan, his results convinced several players such as {{Sm|Raito}} that King Dedede was not the worst character in the game, due to King Dedede's improved representation compared to other low- and mid-tier characters. Nevertheless, King Dedede is seen as a shell of his former ''Brawl'' self and is considered non-viable in the competitive metagame.

===[[Official Custom Moveset Project]]===

{{OfficialCustomMoves

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*{{Sm|Andy|Mexico|p=Mexico}} - The best King Dedede player in Mexico. Placed 5th at {{Trn|True Combo}} and 17th at {{Trn|Smash Factor 5}} with a win over {{Sm|Regi Shikimi}}. Formerly ranked 19th on the [[Mexican Power Rankings]].

*King Dedede has the longest [[star KO]] voice clip in the game. Its duration is so long that it can still be heard briefly even after the star KO. He and {{SSB4|Cloud}} are the only two characters with this quirk.

*If King Dedede is [[footstool]]ed while performing his side taunt on the ''3DS'' version, the taunt will be cancelled, but Dedede's mouth will stay open for the same duration as the taunt usually lasts.

==References==